Mayor Don Williamson faces competition from six challengers who think they can do a better job.

Expect a lively, hard-fought campaign.

And don't for a minute underestimate how important this election is to the future of Flint.

This is a pivotal time for our city. We have climbed out of the morass of financial distress, the turmoil of a recall and state receivership, and once again are standing on our own two feet.

But the mayoral election of 2007 isn't about where we've come from. It's about where we're going. It's not about the city we used to be. It's about who has a vision for the city we can become, and the leadership and skills to take us there.

The person who is elected to serve as mayor of Flint for the next four years will play a central role in moving this city ahead -- or not.

The Journal is committed to providing thorough coverage of the mayoral campaign so that people can be as informed as possible and make the best choice for the future of our city.

You'll be able to read that coverage in the pages of The Flint Journal on a regular basis, such as our article announcing the seven candidates who met the filing deadline and are officially in the race.

But given the importance of this race, we're taking our coverage to a new level. We have created a Web page devoted entirely to the 2007 Flint mayoral race.

We're calling this new site "Decision 2007.'' The site still is under development, and will continue to evolve as we advance into the primary campaign. Already, it includes biographies of the candidates and their answers to some basic questions about the issues facing Flint.

As the campaign unfolds, we'll enrich the site with more detailed information on the backgrounds of the candidates and where they stand on the issues.

We plan to include audio clips of all the candidates so you can hear them speaking in their own words. We'll give you information on where they're getting their campaign funds and how they're spending that money. We'll keep you up to date on who is being endorsed by what organizations, and we'll have a calendar of campaign events.
The site also includes such basic information as how to register to vote and how to identify what precinct you live in.

I encourage everyone who cares about the future of Flint to spend some time with our "Decision 2007'' site and use it as a resource to learn more about the candidates and the issues. We also encourage you to leave comments and questions on the site. That will help guide our coverage.

Above all, we encourage you to be informed, and to vote. It is, after all, your city. And your future.